Hidden Death

The Shadow Pulp #14

by Maxwell Grant (Pseudonym), Walter B. Gibson

Murder of a Genius
When a mechanical genius is murdered at the moment of his greatest invention, THE SHADOW decodes a plan of linked deaths and traps a master killer in a bizarre and brilliant intrigue...

Genres: Mystery, Pulp

138 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1932

About the author

Maxwell Grant was a pseudonym often used by Walter B. Gibson to write stories of "The Shadow".

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's less of The Shadow here and more of the supporting characters than in any of the other Shadow novels I've read. (I'll admit to being partial to the old radio version where you knew Cranston was The Man, and he had Margot instead of the Girasol Ring.) This is a nice locked-room mystery (literally!), with some nice traditional detecting, clues, and red-herrings, but not a great pulpy Shadow adventure. Interestingly, this Bantam reprint from 1970 seems to have put Robert Redford on the cover in a slouch hat; where was Walter Baumhofer when they needed him?

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very different from the typical stories to this point due to the locked room mystery dynamic, trying to figure out how someone was murdered while all alone, and whether or not a series of such murders are being committed by a mastermind who might already be dead himself.

At the same time, some of this felt familiar in the way it sets us up for a big twist, but many modern readers are likely to realize the twist is being telegraphed from pretty early on. This is a spoiler of the ending, assuming you won't actually catch it yourself, but it's likely you'll be thinking within a few chapters, "this guy is either behind it all or he's The Shadow in disguise and that's going to be the real twist." Closer to the end it'll become clearer: "Oh that guy's totally behind all this." Sometimes it's fun to put together clues and try to solve the mystery along with the protagonist, but when the clues throw themselves in your face, and the correct answer is kind of the only answer you can come up with given the information, it's less like an interactive read and more just waiting and hoping to be surprised by something more interesting, and being disappointed.

With that in mind, I think this was a three star Shadow story: merely average. It wasn't average in its approach, and if anything the plot might have been a little above average, but the execution should have been more subtle and less forced, and overall I didn't find it particularly memorable. Not one of the really dull ones, but well short of the really good ones. Different but just ok.

I've made a habit of noting Gibson's progress in describing the pistols used in the story, so I'll continue to now: In the early stories he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about and used revolver and automatic interchangeably, sometimes referring to one gun both ways within the space of a sentence or two. By this point he's finally gotten it figured out, and I'm pretty this story doesn't contain a single mistake: most characters use revolvers, The Shadow picks up several revolvers from fallen foes as needed, but The Shadow's own pistols are never described as anything but automatics. It's a relief after so many stories that felt carelessly written by someone who didn't care enough to learn his own subject. At this point it hardly seems necessary to keep commenting, since it's clearly no longer an issue, but I'm doing it for this story in part because I'm writing this review having already almost completed the following story, and I'm looking forward to commending Gibson for the very accurate and unprecedently detailed description of The Shadow's actions during a gunfight in that story.

I'll note one section of the story that stood out to me as particularly weak for the same reason I didn't even remember it until I skimmed back over the story for this review: It just doesn't seem to make any particular sense and is necessary to the plot only due to a coincidence after the fact that was impossible to predict. Going by my recollection of it:
• The Shadow wanted to find someone connected to the murder case.
• A hood only tangentially connected to the main story realized this and used it to set a trap for The Shadow.
• Harry Vincent discovered the plot but was prevented from giving a warning in time.
• No matter, The Shadow got into the area and immediately noticed the setup taking shape. He realized it was a trap.
• But he went into it anyway. Because he misassessed the scope of it? Because he thought getting to the guy he was after was worth it, regardless of the circumstances? For the fun of thwarting it? Out of hubris? Because he actually is a little crazy? Because his ego wouldn't let him be scared away from his goal once it was in sight? I really don't know. But even when it seems crazy I guess, he's The Shadow and always knows best, and he'll achieve his goal.
• Nope. He walks into the trap, employs some silly hat-on-a-stick style trickery to just barely avoid getting killed, still things get chaotic, he sees his target just long enough to shoot him in the wrist, then has to turn his attention to pulling off another trick that will allow him to slip through an army of gangsters that has him cornered in the trap he knowingly walked into.
• The Shadow manages to create enough confusion to slip away, but the gangsters are sharp enough that they're onto him before he's out of sight, and manage to clip him as he's escaping. So for walking into a huge trap, he killed one significant figure who didn't really factor into the case at hand, shot his target but didn't get to capture or interrogate him, killed various nameless thugs, lost his hat and cloak and both pistols, got pretty seriously injured, and was left escaping over rooftops with a trail of blood behind him. Not exactly a win that he pulled from a situation that looked like a complete disaster from the start.
• But! As The Shadow is escaping, he ends up crossing escape paths with... the very guy he was after... just as the guy's dying. So The Shadow was able to get some useful information after all, from the guy's dying words, delivered at just the most convenient place and time.
• So that's why it's an annoying section of the book. The Shadow did something senseless, it went as well as could be hoped for which is still terribly, he failed to get anything out of it... except he got some of what he was after by pure coincidence and storytelling convenience. A lazy and gratuitous setpiece of chaotic action in a story that had been a little light on action, but would have been better off without this eye-roller contrivance.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the police get a death notice mailed write before someone's death, Commissioner Weston writes it off as a crank trick. Then another notice comes ... Now Detective Cardona is on the case, but with strict orders not to make up more stories about that mythical crimefighter, the Shadow.
I'd forgotten how good Walter Gibson (the man behind the Grant pseudonym) can be when he's on point. This is a solid little mystery with a couple of great action scenes, though the mastermind was easy to guess. And there's an odd bit at the beginning that doesn't make sense unless the Shadow has actual shadow-powers (he doesn't). A good read nonetheless.

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grant, Maxwell - Hidden Death

Pulp fiction with The Shadow.
A book dealer tossed this into an order decades ago.
Police receive letters warning of imminent murder, hinting of only two initials.
Deaths stack up, until The Shadow gets involved.
Escapist fare from the 1930’s, which Grant churned out by the dozens.
To be honest, a bit dull, despite shootings and fisticuffs.
An invincible hero is just that. Like getting into a boxing ring with Zeus.
Outcome highly predictable.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eccentric inventor is murdered and several other murders follow, all accompanied by strange notes. The Shadow investigates, and many twists and turns ensue. Good, fast moving story.

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pulp novel featuring The Shadow. Uncovering links between seemingly unrelated murders.

[Kevin Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine Shadow adventure. But the criminal mastermind was obvious from the beginning.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to pulp heroes there are 2 or 3 great standouts and the Shadow is one of those. The stories are fast paced and action filled. The mystery just adds to the excitement. With his army of agents to help the Shadow never lets you down for a great read. Highly recommended

[Tomi Vaisala · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could be this story was inspired by an Arsene Lupin book.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

none of the mob in this one, not quite as much of the shadow as usual, a tenuous 3 stars, this is #6 in the publisher's series of reprints, not as originally published